Electric Transmission & Distribution

Giving Our Customers the Intelligence to Make Informed Decisions

Our electric transmission and distribution business had a strong year, marked by growth of nearly 28,000 customers and increased usage partly due to favorable weather. Operating income for 2010 was $567 million, consisting of $427 million from the electric utility and $140 million related to transition and system restoration bonds. This compares to $545 million of operating income in 2009, including $414 million from the electric utility and $131 million related to transition and system restoration bonds.

We also made major strides in our long-term plan to implement smart meters and intelligent grid technologies, both of which are partially funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. The company has now installed more than 1 million smart meters and associated communications infrastructure and met all Texas retail market requirements. By automating routine transactions, these new meters eliminated more than 600,000 service visits since 2009. This advanced system will promote greater energy conservation and enable Houston-area electric consumers the ability to better monitor and manage their electric use. We are on schedule to complete the installation of smart meters system-wide in mid-2012.

We began our intelligent grid initiative in central Houston in 2010, and this $115 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2013. The new system features power line and substation automation and sensor technologies that combine with smart meters to remotely detect and identify power outage types and locations. The new intelligent grid will be able to self-heal by rerouting power around problems to minimize service disruptions. This will result in fewer and shorter outages, while improving customer service and allowing us to use our workforce more effectively.

In 2010, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid operator, endorsed a $200 million transmission project to improve power flow in the state. We expect to present the project to the Public Utility Commission of Texas in the summer of 2011 and, if approved, begin construction in early 2013.

Continuing our support of energy efficiency, we are working with Ford and GM to promote increased use of electric vehicles. We also had our Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding increased by 12 percent and received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award for our new home construction program for the ninth consecutive year.